Stanlley Oriala,13, born to Nigerian parents based in New Jersey, USA, raised a lot of excitement at the grand finale of the NNPC- SNEPCo Junior Tennis Championship, which ended at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta on Saturday.
Oriala, who was accompanied by his father, had targeted the tournament for his summer holidays and was expected to overrun the Boys 14 & Under category, but his opponent in the final, Taiwo Garuba, from Ogun State, would have none of it.
Trailing 1-4, the home crowd became very loud and partisan, enabling Garuba to fight back to 4-4. Oriala, who had attached himself to the Lekmak Tennis Academy team from Ekiti, also got them and the Lagos team behind him, which created a team tennis atmosphere.
At the end, Oriala’s better skills, placement and mental toughness saw him through to a 9-7 win. Success Godwin easily won the Girls 14s, beating Grace Oritingbeni from Ekiti 9-3.
Goodness Aina, Nigeria’s emerging tennis great, won her second title in two weeks, but not without a fight from her opponent and teammate, Gloria Samuel from the Lekmak Academy. Aina needed a tiebreaker to win 9-8 and was awarded the most improved player of the tournament based on her performance in the past year, which included beating the senior national champion, Khadijat Mohammed, in the CBN Senior Tennis Championships.
The Boys 16s title went to Seyi Ogunsakin, also of the Lekmak Tennis Academy, who led 4-0 before his opponent, Yohana Yakubu from Abuja, retired with stomach cramps.
Other winners were Friday Testimony from Ogun State, who beat his team mate Ademola Adejumobi and Khadijat Wuraola from Kwara, who defeated Oritingbeni in the Girls 12s finals. Both girls were allowed to play up one age group.
The Grand finale was attended by several dignitaries, including Chief Segun Odegbami (MON), the grand patron of Sports in Ogun State, the Hon. Commissioner for Sports Development in Ogun State, Hon. Wasiu Isiaka and the Deliveries Manager of SNEPCo, Tajudeed Adebayo, who represented the Managing Director of SNEPCo, Adams Rowland.
In a brief address delivered on his behalf by Mr Adebayo, the SNEPCo MD said the organisation and its joint partners were delighted with the impact the championship, which has been running for 12 years, is making in the development of the sport in Nigeria and in the lives of the young boys and girls who are taking to the sport. “We shall continue to support this initiative,” he said.
